III 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 191 

Honoring Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Sandra 

Day O’Connor. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 1, 2005 

Mr. FRIST (for himself, Mr. REID, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. KYL, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. 

ALEXANDER, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. BAYH, Mr. 

BENNETT, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. BOND, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. 

BROWNBACK, Mr. BUNNING, Mr. BURNS, Mr. BURR, Mr. BYRD, Ms. 

CANTWELL, Mr. CARPER, Mr. CHAFEE, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mrs. CLINTON, 

Mr. COBURN, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. COLEMAN, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. CONRAD, 

Mr. CORNYN, Mr. CORZINE, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. DAYTON, Mr. 

DEMINT, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. DODD, Mrs. DOLE, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. 

DORGAN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. ENZI, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mrs. 

FEINSTEIN, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. GREGG, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. 

HARKIN, Mr. HATCH, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. 

ISAKSON, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KERRY, Mr. 

KOHL, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. 

LIEBERMAN, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr. LOTT, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. 

MCCONNELL, Ms. MIKULSKI, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. NELSON of Nebraska, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. 

REED, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. SANTORUM, 

Mr. SARBANES, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. SMITH, 

Ms. SNOWE, Mr. SPECTER, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. SUNUNU, 

Mr. TALENT, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. THUNE, Mr. VITTER, Mr. VOINOVICH, 

Mr. WARNER, and Mr. WYDEN) submitted the following resolution; which 

was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION

Honoring Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the 

United States Sandra Day O’Connor.
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•SRES 191 ATS

Whereas, for nearly a quarter century, Justice Sandra Day 

O’Connor honorably served as a fair and impartial Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States; 

Whereas Sandra Day O’Connor, the daughter of Harry and 

Ada Mae, was born in El Paso, Texas, and was raised 

by her family on a cattle ranch in southeastern Arizona; 

Whereas Sandra Day O’Connor began an academic journey 

at Stanford University, earning a bachelor’s degree in economics and graduating magna cum laude; 

Whereas Sandra Day O’Connor continued her education at 

Stanford University, by enrolling in the Stanford Law 

School, where she served on the Board of Editors of the 

law review; 

Whereas, graduating in just 2 years from Stanford Law 

School, Sandra Day O’Connor managed to finish third in 

an impressive class, which included her future Supreme 

Court of the United States colleague Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist; 

Whereas Sandra Day O’Connor married her great love, John 

Jay O’Connor III, in 1952; 

Whereas Sandra Day O’Connor began a legal career as the 

Deputy County Attorney of San Mateo, California; 

Whereas, when John Jay O’Connor III was drafted into the 

JAG Corps in 1953, the young couple moved to Frankfurt, Germany, where Sandra Day O’Connor worked as 

a civilian attorney for Quartermaster Market Center; 

Whereas, after 4 years in Europe, Sandra Day O’Connor returned to Maryvale, Arizona, where she began a legal 

practice and raised 3 sons, Scott, Brian, and Jay; 
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•SRES 191 ATS

Whereas in 1965, Sandra Day O’Connor began service in 

State government as the Assistant Attorney General for 

Arizona; 

Whereas Sandra Day O’Connor was later appointed to the 

Arizona State Senate and then re-elected twice more by 

the people of Arizona; 

Whereas Sandra Day O’Connor served as majority leader of 

the Arizona State Senate, and was the first woman to 

hold such an office in any State; 

Whereas in 1975, Sandra Day O’Connor was elected Judge 

of Maricopa County Superior Court and served in such 

capacity until 1979; 

Whereas President Ronald Reagan appointed Sandra Day 

O’Connor to serve as Associate Justice of the Supreme 

Court of the United States; 

Whereas, on September 21, 1981, the Senate unanimously 

confirmed the nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor to 

the Supreme Court of the United States, and she became 

the first female Justice in the Court’s history; 

Whereas, since September 25th, 1981, Justice Sandra Day 

O’Connor has served with distinction on the Supreme 

Court of the United States; 

Whereas Sandra Day O’Connor has served as an example to 

all the people of the United States, demonstrating that 

through persistence and hard work anything is possible; 

Whereas, throughout her tenure on the Supreme Court of the 

United States, Sandra Day O’Connor has not lost sight 

of her values and has not wavered from her well-grounded views; 
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•SRES 191 ATS

Whereas President Ronald Reagan, on the date he appointed 

Sandra Day O’Connor to the Supreme Court of the 

United States, said, ‘‘[s]he is truly a ‘person for all seasons’, possessing those unique qualities of temperament, 

fairness, intellectual capacity and devotion to the public 

good which have characterized the 101 ‘brethren’ who 

have preceded her’’; 

Whereas now, more than 23 years later, the comments President Reagan made about Sandra Day O’Connor still ring 

true; 

Whereas when Sandra Day O’Connor took the oath of office 

as Associate Justice, she pledged to uphold the Constitution, and has since then proven a steadfast commitment 

to the rule of law; 

Whereas the wisdom, intellect, respect for others, and humility of Sandra Day O’Connor have allowed her to become 

well-respected among her colleagues, including those with 

opposing judicial philosophies; 

Whereas Sandra Day O’Connor is an independent thinker 

and has made great contributions in many substantive 

areas of the law; 

Whereas Sandra Day O’Connor embodies the ideal qualities 

of a judge, including fairness, impartiality, and openmindedness; 

Whereas, a true public servant, Sandra Day O’Connor has 

proudly served the United States for 4 decades as an Arizona State Senator and majority leader, State court 

judge, an Assistant Attorney General for Arizona, and 

for more than 23 years as an Associate Justice on the 

Supreme Court of the United States; 
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•SRES 191 ATS

Whereas through her experiences, Justice Sandra Day 

O’Connor has brought a unique perspective and understanding of checks and balances to the Supreme Court of 

the United States; and 

Whereas, Sandra Day O’Connor, a brilliant jurist and a compassionate woman, has earned a place in history as the 

first woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United 

States: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes Associate Justice of the Supreme 

3 Court of the United States Sandra Day O’Connor as 

4 a great American, a life-long public servant, a bril5 liant legal scholar, a superb jurist, and the first 

6 woman ever to serve as an Associate Justice on the 

7 Supreme Court of the United States; and 

8 (2) pays tribute to Sandra Day O’Connor, As9 sociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United 

10 States, for 4 decades of distinguished service to the 

11 nation.

Æ